Mo Willems to Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! with New Publishing

Coming April 4, 2023:
Be the Bus: The Lost and Profound Wisdom of The Pigeon

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! 20th Anniversary Edition

New York, NY, October 4, 2022 —On April 4, 2023, worldwide bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Mo Willems will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his beloved award-winning picture book classic Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! with new publishing: Be the Bus: The Lost and Profound Wisdom of The Pigeon (Union Square Kids, April 4, 2023), a humor book for adults, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! 20th Anniversary Edition (Hyperion Books for Children, April 4, 2023), including an exclusive board game.

The award-winning Pigeon collection has sold more than 6 million copies in North America, has been translated into 20 languages and has inspired theatrical productions, museum exhibits and television specials. The eighth book in the series, The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!, was published September 6, 2022.

The deal for Be the Bus: The Lost and Profound Wisdom of The Pigeon for US, Canadian and UK rights was negotiated with Union Square & Co. by Marcia Wernick at Wernick & Pratt Agency, LLC and Chris Bosco at Stampede Ventures.

“After twenty years of saying ‘No!’ to The Pigeon, I’m excited for the release of this special, large edition of the original Pigeon picture book with an exclusive new Pigeon board game,” said Mo Willems. “And for those who have grown up with The Pigeon, who are young at heart (and old elsewhere), I hope they will enjoy this brand-new volume of The Pigeon’s meandering musings and avian aphorisms.”

#1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Mo Willems shares wit and wisdom from The Pigeon in this one-of-a-kind humor book for adults. Discover important tips, thoughts, opinions, quotes, complaints, and basic philosophical misunderstandings in this profound collection of Pigeon-isms. This 80-page, gift-sized collector’s title features all-new original art along with big (and little) Pigeon-y tidbits to ponder, such as: “Let me be the first to say that everything has already been said.” “Surprises happen when you least expect them.” “If I could change just ONE thing about myself, I’d be perfect.” A must-have book for grown-up Pigeon fans!

ABOUT DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS! 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! 20th Anniversary Edition
Words and Pictures by Mo Willems
Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Publishing Worldwide | April 4, 2023
Ages 3–5 | $19.99 U.S. / $24.99 CAN | ISBN 978-1-3680-9023-0
Mo Willems, #1 New York Times bestselling creator and three-time Caldecott Honoree, presents the 20th anniversary edition of the book that started it all: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Mo Willems’ hilarious picture book was awarded a 2004 Caldecott Honor and has been inducted into the Picture Book Hall of Fame. Now, twenty years later, readers can amp up the fun with the 20th anniversary edition featuring a larger trim size and an exclusive Pigeon board game. The first player to get to the Bus Depot wins, but remember—don’t let The Pigeon drive the bus!

ABOUT MO WILLEMS
Mo Willems is an author, illustrator, animator, and playwright. He was the inaugural Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence (2019-2022), and he continues to collaborate in creating fun new stuff involving classical music, opera, comedy concerts, dance, painting and digital works with the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Ben Folds, Yo-Yo Ma, and others.

Willems is best known for his #1 New York Times bestselling picture books, which have been awarded

three Caldecott Honors (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!; Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale; Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity), and his celebrated Elephant and Piggie early reader series, which has been awarded two Theodor Geisel Medals and five Geisel Honors.

Mo’s art has been exhibited around the world, including major solo retrospectives at the High Museum (Atlanta) and the New-York Historical Society (NYC). Over the last decade, Willems has become the most produced playwright of Theater for Young Audiences in America, having written or co-written four musicals based on his books.

He began his career as a writer and animator on PBS’ Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy Awards (writing). Other television work includes two series on Cartoon Network: Sheep in the Big City (creator + head writer) and Codename: Kids Next Door (head writer). Mo’s recent TV projects include the live action comedy special Don’t Let the Pigeon Do Storytime! and an animated rock opera special based on Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, both with HBOMax. His papers reside at Yale University’s Beinecke Library.

ABOUT UNION SQUARE & CO.
Union Square & Co. is a talent-driven publisher whose mission is to promote excellence in contemporary publishing and to honor the vision of our creators by providing best-in-class production, editorial and design choices. Headquartered in New York City, Union Square & Co., LLC, is a subsidiary of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., and includes the adult imprints Union Square & Co., Puzzlewright Press and Sterling Ethos; the children’s imprints Union Square Kids and Boxer Books; and the gift and stationery publisher Knock Knock. For more information, visit unionsquareandco.com.

ABOUT DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE
Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW) is one of the world’s largest children’s publishing brands, igniting imagination through storytelling in ever-inventive ways. As part of the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment, DPW brings the magic of The Walt Disney Company’s powerful brands and franchises, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, ESPN, 20th Century Studios, Andscape and National Geographic, to fans around the world. DPW and its affiliates create and publish books, comics, magazines and digital stories both vertically in-house and through an extensive worldwide licensing structure. With a focus on audio and digital learning products, DPW also adds magic to story time with best-selling eBook titles, best-in-class apps and audio books, and interactive storytelling for smart devices. Headquartered in Glendale, California, DPW publishes books, magazines and digital products in 85 countries in 75 languages.